2 children found dead in trash bags under sink

updated 5:46 p.m. ET July 31, 2007

HANAHAN, S.C. - Two young children who had been left in a hot car while their mother was at work were later found dead, their bodies wrapped in trash bags under an apartment sink, authorities said Tuesday.

Autopsies were scheduled Tuesday to determine what killed 1-year-old Triniti Campbell and her 4-year-old brother, Shawn Campbell Jr., Berkeley County Deputy Coroner George Oliver said.

The children’s mother, Sametta Heyward, 27, had taken them to work Monday in downtown Charleston and left them in her car all day as the temperature outside rose to 88 degrees, Oliver said.

Officers investigating a report of a disturbance at Heyward’s apartment Monday night found her crying and yelling, “’Oh, my babies,”’ according to a police report.

A man holding Heyward told officers “the kids were in trash bags and under the cabinet.” The police report said Heyward tried to bite and kick the officers, had to be restrained, and was taken to a hospital because medics thought she could be having seizures.

“She stated she wanted to die and asked officers to kill her,” the report said.

Police Chief Don Wilcox said investigators had not been able to talk to the woman because her attorney advised her not to say anything.

“We’re trying to run down the timeline, as well as get any physical evidence, so we can determine exactly what took place,” Wilcox said.

Neighbor Brandon Coving said he saw Heyward and the children on Sunday. “They were running around, and she had a big smile on her face, and it seemed like a regular day,” he said.

Hanahan is about 15 miles north of Charleston.

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